Colorado Mountain Club

Serving climbers, hikers, skiers, outdoor enthusiasts and the community since 1912, the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) is the largest outdoor recreation organization in Colorado. The CMC offers a wide range of opportunities for the public to explore and learn about the southern Rockies, while leading efforts to protect the species, habitats, and wildness of our public land. Throughout the Colorado Mountain Club, more than 850 volunteers provide leadership on 3,000 educational, cultural, and recreation mountain activities each year.

The CMC was instrumental in landmark achievements such as the designation of Rocky Mountain National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, and the passage of the Wilderness Act. Today, the CMC continues the conservation tradition with trail stewardship projects and by working throughout the state with land management agencies, partner organizations, and coalitions to permanently protect our last remaining roadless areas and wildlife corridors, protect and restore the quiet outdoor experience, and safeguard the ecological integrity of Colorado by reducing the impact of recreation on the natural environment. CMC’s dedicated conservation volunteers coordinated over 3,100 hours of hands-on volunteer projects on public lands in 2010 – an in-kind value of over $68,000.

In addition to conserving Colorado’s wild places, education has always been at the heart of the Colorado Mountain Club. Last year, the CMC’s Youth Education Program (YEP) provided opportunities for 5,435 kids (and 780 chaperones) to experience the natural world through active learning adventures – essential opportunities to help combat childhood obesity and prevent “nature deficit disorder.” In 2010, the CMC awarded a total of $5,351 in need-based scholarships to 677 youth. CMC’s youth education program has provided opportunities for more than 58,000 youth to learn about outdoor recreation since 1999.